Since 2008, primary and specialty-care physicians have either seen their first-year guaranteed compensation increase or stay the same, according to the Medical Group Management Association’s "Physician Placement Starting Salary Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data."
The starting salary survey includes data on 4,295 providers categorized by specialty, as well as starting salary information on 1,986 physicians directly out of residency or fellowship. The report includes information on paid vacations, paid continuing medical education, signing bonuses, loan forgiveness and relocation expenses.
[See also: Healthcare salaries on the rise.]
According to the report, median first-year guaranteed compensation was greater for specialty-care physicians in multispecialty practices than in single-specialty practices. Specialty physicians earned a median first-year guaranteed salary of $258,677 in multispecialty practices and $240,596 in single-specialty practices. Primary care physicians received a median first-year guaranteed salary of $165,000 in multispecialty practices and $172,400 in single specialty practices – a difference of 4.5 percent.
The report also found that a physician’s first-year compensation varies based on geographic location. Median first-year compensation was the same for primary care physicians across the Eastern, Midwest and Southern geographic sections at $170,000 per year. Specialty care physicians’ median first-year compensation varied more – In the Southern and Western sections, first-year compensation was highest at $275,000 and $270,000, respectively. The Midwest and Eastern regions held the lowest median first-year compensation for specialists at $250,000 and $220,000, respectively.
In addition to first-year guaranteed compensation, benefits such as signing bonuses, loan forgiveness and amount of paid relocation expenses helped shape physician recruitment.
According to the report, 56 percent of physicians received signing bonuses as part of their employment offers, and 12 percent received loan forgiveness packages, most of which were $50,000 or less. Employers were more likely to offer loan forgiveness packages to primary care physicians than specialty-care physicians, while 56 percent of physicians accepted paid relocation packages with their employment offers.
“Physician recruitment is based on supply and demand and because there are fewer physicians, recruiting has become more difficult in this environment,” said Kevin Ruggles, MD, senior vice president of medical and clinical affairs at the Rockford Health System. “Physicians have certainly become savvier in negotiating their employment terms and signing bonuses and paid relocation packages are more common now.”